Chapter 231 No lead

Chapter 231: Chapter 231 No lead

_Rowena’s POV_

Two whole weeks passed since Celeste brought that encrypted report into my hospital room, and every single day felt like standing on a landmine waiting for the click.

Three weeks of endless security sweeps, double checking sensors, and sweeping every server in the territory for Drake’s hidden signal.

Two weeks of watching Alaric barely sleep three hours a night, his Alpha instincts on absolute overdrive as he personally oversaw every military patrol in the capital.

And yet, Drake was nowhere to be found.

It was unbelievable how one person could hide so well, and I knew why he was doing all these. I killed his father after all.

Still, it made my blood boil.

The sheer arrogance of that man, sitting comfortably in his wherever hideout while dragging a leash on someone right inside our walls, was driving me insane. I wasn’t used to playing defense for this long. I was an engineer, I liked clear problems, understandable calculations, and immediate solutions.

Sitting around waiting for a rat to show its face made my jaw clench so hard my teeth ached.

"You’re going to burn a hole through that tablet if you stare at it any harder, Rowena," Ezekiel said, sliding into the chair across from my desk in the main office.

My ankle was fully healed now, thanks to Kyle’s care over the first week, but my temper was at an all time high.

"He’s playing with us, I’m sure you can see that.” I groaned, slamming the tablet screen down onto the table. "Drake knows we know about his spy. He intentionally dropped that message to make us paranoid, to make Alaric stretch his guards thin, and to keep us guessing."

"And it’s working," Ezekiel noted with a sigh, rubbing his forehead in exhaustion. Everyone was tired at this point, when does it ever end. "Alaric looks like he’s about to execute the next guard who sneezes too loudly. And Brielle running off too, it’s been two weeks for fuck’s sake.”

I let out a cold sigh. "That’s another thing that makes zero sense. Where is she? A pampered noble girl like Brielle doesn’t just survive on her own in the wild for two weeks. Her father’s accounts are frozen, their family estate is set to be auctioned off by the council in forty eight hours to pay back their debts, and she hasn’t made a single transaction under her name."

"Maybe she crawled into a hole and died of embarrassment," Ezekiel offered cheerfully, but unfortunately I wasn’t in the mood for jokes.

"She’s too narcissistic for that," I replied, standing up and smoothing down my blazer. "She’s waiting for something. And until Drake or Brielle makes a mistake, we stay on high alert. No one enters or leaves our private wing without a double clearance check."

"Understood, boss," Ezekiel grinned, standing up. "I’ll go check the latest perimeter logs with Pierre. Keep your head on."

Once Ezekiel left the office, the room felt almost overwhelming. I leaned back against the edge of my desk, rubbing the bridge of my nose to push away a growing headache.

The double doors opened after a while, and Alaric stepped inside.

He had taken off his official suit jacket, rolling up the sleeves of his black dress shirt to his elbows. Dark circles sat under his eyes, and the tension in his stance l told me everything I needed to know before he even spoke a word.

"Still nothing from the northern patrols," Alaric said, his voice laced with exhaustion. He walked across the room toward me, he was tired, I could tell. "Every time I think we have a lead on Drake’s informant, it turns into a dead end."

I set my tablet aside and stepped into his space before he could stop. I reached up, my hands cupping his jawline, my thumb gently smoothing over the tight line of his cheekbone.

"Alaric," I spoke softly, forcing his dark eyes to meet mine. "Look at me."

He paused, his chest heaving as he let out a long, ragged breath. He leaned his face into my touch, closing his eyes for a brief second as if my hands were the only thing keeping him anchored to the ground.

"You’re pushing yourself too hard," I murmured, my voice calm, and filled with warmth. "Drake wants us exhausted. He wants us stressed, paranoid, and making reckless calls. But he doesn’t know who he’s dealing with. You are the Alpha King, Alaric. You built the safest territory in this entire region."

Alaric opened his eyes, searching my face with a look of raw emotion. He wrapped his broad arms around my waist, pulling me firmly against his chest until there wasn’t a single inch of space left between us.

"I don’t care about the territory right now, Rowena," Alaric admitted, his voice dropping into a rough, possessive whisper against my neck. "I care about you. The idea that someone is walking through these halls, taking orders from Drake, and watching your every step... it’s driving my wolf out of his mind. I can’t lose you."

A soft smile touched my lips, I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my fingers into the soft hair at the back of his head.

"You aren’t going to lose me," I promised him, looking straight into his dark, storm filled eyes. "I am not some fragile flower that needs to be hidden away in a cage. I chose you, Alaric. I trust you with my life, and I love you. We are going to deal with Drake, we are going to tear down whoever his spy is, and we are going to do it together."

Alaric froze for a fraction of a second, his dark eyes widening as my words registered in his mind. The tension in his shoulders seemed to melt away, replaced by an overwhelming, fierce heat that flared up in his gaze.

"Say that again," he breathed out, his grip tightening around my waist.

"I love you, Alpha King," I whispered again as requested, leaning up on my toes. "And nothing anyone does is ever going to change that."

Alaric didn’t wait another second. He let out a low, rough sound from the back of his throat and leaned down, capturing my lips with a deep, passionate kiss that completely stole the breath right out of my lungs.